Leaving Lee Da
by The Grey Coincidence
Summary: A short one-shot depicting Crane's feelings and emotions in the run-up to leaving for the Jade Palace. His thoughts as he muses on all the things he has done as a student at Lee Da Kung Fu Academy, with his friends. Leaving behind everything he knew and stepping into the big wide world. It was easy enough to get lost in.


**A/N: My second one-shot. This story idea just popped into my head the other day and wouldn't leave me alone unless I wrote it. Which I did. Enjoy.**

To Crane the empty room spoke volumes. It in was exactly as it had been three years ago. And yet he wasn't. He had been at Lee Da's Kung Fu Academy for two years, three if you counted the one he had been a janitor in, and he was already leaving. The invitation had come as quite a shock, for the Jade Palace was easily the most prestigious Kung Fu School in China, after all it was situated merely four hours walk away from the famed Pool of Sacred Tears, the birth-place of Kung Fu.

To say he was excited was an understatement. Barely anyone ever got invited to the Jade Palace. It was an experience to never be missed. He would hone his skills, maybe try his wing on the Training Hall, be taught by Master Shifu, THE Master Shifu, said to be amongst the swiftest (and strictest) master of the art of Kung fu. He was also going to be (or so the letter said) a member of the Furious Five, a team of Kung Fu warriors picked at random every hundred years to protect China from all sorts of evil.

Crane took a deep breath, he was beginning to sound like (as Mei Ling all ways put it) the biggest Kung fu geek in the history of Kung fu. But none of her teasing, or her tricks were going to stop him. He was going to have an experience a lot of his classmates in the academy would have given their right appendage for. That was why he had only told two people (and yet everyone still knew).

De Lu had been the first, after all it had been his turn to sort out the post for the students. And like anyone else he would read the entire letter before he gave it to them (wouldn't you). So he was still standing at the doorway when Crane finished reading, a grin growing on both of their faces.

 _Crane's reaction was predictable."Is this someone's idea of a joke"?_

 _The wolf looked puzzled and cocked his head to one side."You don't think it is, do you"?_

 _"Well, not really. But I know a lot of people who would find it very funny to tell someone that they are going to study at the Jade Palace and see their reaction when they realise it was just a prank"._

 _The canine snorted at this but made no other signs of amusement. Something else had been toying at his mind for a little while._

 _"Sooo, Jade Palace, real great, quite far though, when you think about it"._

In a way this made the whole thing kind of bittersweet, he would be leaving everything he knew and loved, he was stepping into the world. And as his late father used to say 'it's a world easy enough to get lost in'(in Crane's opinion his late father never had much directional sense).

Mei Ling of course had found out during their sparring session. She had noticed a kind of awkward silence between the the canine and his avian friend. De Lu had told her it was nothing important, but that only made her all the more eager to find out about this. Even now Crane remembered the scene vividly.

 _The waterfowl knew from experience that the only chance he had ever stood at beating the feline was to outlast her. The Mountain Cat was not a species well known for endurance, speed, yes, wit, maybe, endurance, not really. Mei Ling had honed her natural skills over years over training, but her level of endurance was never going to match that of Crane's, a species designed for yearly migrations over breathtaking distances. Meanwhile his strength and skill were good, but she was just an entirely different level, whenever she could she fought with a bo staff, and the weapon was almost as much a part of her as her tail. The avian had been hit often enough by it to know just how well his friend knew how to control the weapon._

 _It was just after one lucky deflection that Mei Ling had asked about him and De Lu, than whack him over the top of the face with her other paw, today she was not using her bo staff, and Crane was grateful._

 _"Crane, focus, please", she joked as another one of her paws landed a firm smack on his cheek."And my question"?_

 _Crane promptly lifted off into the air, attempting to use his aerokinect abilities, but the cat had caught him by the legs and had pulled him down to his back._

 _"Seriously, Crane, I'm like not even trying"she teased as she helped her friend up. "And don't think I've forgotten my question"!_

 _"What question"?This earned him yet another smack on his cheek._

 _"What's up with you and De Lu"?_

 _"It's just, er, you, know-something, like awkward, b-b-between us"._

 _"Well no",she replied sarcastically, causing him to blush._

 _"Ok fine, you want the truth"?_

 _This earned him the upteenth smack._

 _"Can you promise me you won't tell anyone else what I'm about to tell you"?_

 _This earned him a rolling pair of eyes and Mei Ling's promise._

 _"I solemly swear that I will not tell anyone anything about your private life Crane. But then again noone would be that interested would they"._

 _"Ok, here goes, I'm leaving for the Jade Palace next week, to train because ,I got an invitation ,and might end up becoming a member of the Furious Five", in the end he couldn't keep it in. Neither could Mei Ling._

 _"You're what?! Woah, woah, woah. Thirteen years of knowing each other, the fact that we went to the same school, sleep in rooms next to each other, and are pretty much best friends, and you don't tell me"?!_

 _To Crane's utter embarassment nearly the entire school had by now assembled around them to see what was up. Including the masters._

 _"You told De Lu"!_

 _"He sort of found out", Crane replied weakly._

 _"OK, so De lu, not me, is the first to, as you put it'sort of find out' that you have been invited to the Jade Palace"._

 _The avian could feel all the shocked stares and gazes of all his classmates for at least five minutes. Before someone started cheering on him, and soon he was whisked away, over the shoulders of people parading around like a bunch of happy squirrels with a huge winter supply. Yet as he was whisked away he saw a lone tear slide down her cheeck, before she hastily rubbed it away and joined in the cheering._

All this time later he had never asked her about it, and he highly doubted he ever would. Her mood swings were pretty much a giant part of her identity, and he was certain that it was a part she would never ever try to change, besides she didn't really need to change, did she ?

He had tried to make a peaceful, quiet ceremony for him leaving, maybe just him and three or four friends. Of course an academy of kung fu filled with teenage students was not going to hold a minute ceremony for someone who had been accepted into the Jade Palace. Lee Da was never going to be the best Kung Fu school, no matter what anyone said, it had roughly a hundred and eighty students and there was no way anyone was going to let something like this go down quietly. It may never be the best but it always will, is and has been the wildest (churning out some of the best Kung fu masters in China. Boy he was going to miss this place, but he would never forget it, particularly after last night.

 _Instead of the quiet peaceful goodbye ceremony he had hoped for, his departure was greeted by the most voracious party in the history of Lee Da, and the only one to be done with the consent of the masters. Crane was finding himself being congratulated by both close friends and people he scarecly knew. His ears were being bombarded by the sounds of one hundred and senventy nine cheering students. He could smell the food, as usual delicilus, coming from the kitchen. He could see all the members of his school shouting and screaming and praising (and in the case of two wolves) setting off inumerable fireworks into the air, creating an unforgettable display of colours. Red primarily, but green and yellow and blue as well. The moon shining white as they partied well past midnight._

 _But the most memorable occasion happened after the party, after almost everyone had gone to their rooms and called in a night (or in the case of two wolves) get more fireworks ready for later on._

 _Mei Ling, De Lu and him were relaxing on the rooftop of the dormitory building, chatting away as their classmates snores wafted out._

 _"That's going to be something to remember",added De Lu._

 _"The janitor is going to remember this, she was shouting at Don and Cheng to keep queit"._

 _"Like those two could ever keep their mouths shut"._

 _At this they all chuckled a bit._

 _"What are you guys going to do ? You know when I leave"._

 _"Oh, you know, the usual find some new friends, ignore the old ones, I think I'm going to stay in Lee Da, maybe become a master you know "? That was Mei Ling's tactic whenever someone mentioned Crane's departure. Annoy him and then change the subject."What about you De Lu, what are you going to do"?_

 _"I dunno. I guess I could always join the Imperial Army, they could always use some_

 _extra help"._

 _"I'll write", said Crane rather weakly. Knowing that now more or less was the last time any of them would ever see each other for a long time._

 _"As long as it's not in calligraphy, I can never read that"._

 _"Guys let's make a promise"._

 _"Yeah Crane"._

 _"That no matter where we go, or who we become, we'll always be friends"._

 _"I promise that",perked in De Lu._

 _"Hmmmm, maybe. OK fine"._

 _And they promised, and laughed. For once since the letter arrived they could forget the future. Enjoying the moment. Crane trying to store every detail into his mind._

 _"Let's play Truth or Dare, no mercy".Suggested De Lu._

 _"Ok", said Mei Ling."Crane"?_

 _"Nah, it's kind of late. I think I' m going to call it a night"._

 _Instantly Mei Ling floored him, or more like roofed him, a confident smirk on her face."Oh no you are not mister. We are going to stay here. Besides have some fun it's your last day"._

Crane shut the door behind him. It was no longer his room. The janitor had already taken off the label to his room, claiming it his. She had never been a sentimental woman. He looked up and down the hallway. None of his peers were awake. He knew for a fact that Cheng was stuck to the roof by his quills (the poor hedgehog) and Don was locked in his room (poor turtle). That was what happened during a truth or dare that took place on someone's last day. After all someone who's leaving can't get in that much trouble. Mei Ling's squad was a member down but that wasn't going to ever affect her. She was tough.

Five minutes later he was walking down the deserted academy grounds, in the direction of the gate. Maybe one day he would come back. But he doubted it. He was moving on after all.

"Crane".

He spun around to look at the voice's owner. It was Master, come to think of it noone really knew his name. They just called him master. The master who had once been his boss before he had joined Lee Da. The master who had told him to step out slowly from the obstacle course.

"Yes, master"?

"I just wanted to say, good luck, and don't forget Lee Da. Ever. And that's an order."

Crane smiled breifly and bowed. He turned around and kept on walking. He promised himself that he would never look back, no matter what. He felt an odd sensation in his stomach. Excitement bubbling within him. A weird kind of sorrow that made him feellike he had missed a step. He would miss Lee Da, but his life was just beginning. He would go, wherever the winds of fate blew him.

Crane took off, but in the last second he broke his promise. He looked back. Lee Da was already fading away into the morning mist. Oh well, he had said his goodbyes.

* * *

 _Footnote:_

 _De Lu belongs to and is the Assassin of Xion. He had to make an appearance in this fic._

 _Cheng, Don and the two wolves are just some random names I thought of. They might later on become important OCs but I doubt it._

 _Update soon and review._


End file.
